"We have great communication. So the comments aren't surprising," Johnson said, according to ESPN New York. "And really and truly guys, I'm 47 now, turning 48, I don't take anything personally. I communicate with all my players.

"Whether it comes out publicly or whether the guys talk to me about stuff privately, I got really thick skin, and it doesn't irritate me one bit. So a lot of his concerns, we've talked about it privately. You guys just found out about it publicly."

Johnson's words came a few hours before the Nets were set to take on the Utah Jazz, who traded Williams to the Nets in February 2011. Ironically, it was widely reported at the time that Williams' clash with coach Jerry Sloan led in part to Sloan's abrupt retirement. On Monday, Williams stated that Sloan's flex system was a better fit for his talents.

Williams signed a five-year, $98 million contract in the offseason to remain with the Nets. Brooklyn is 13-10 overall and 4-6 in their last 10 games, and Williams' numbers are on the decline.

"I said that we've had struggles on offense here," Williams said Tuesday. "I haven't felt as comfortable here, which I've said all year. My stance hasn't changed. I said I could adapt to any offense, and I'm working toward that."

Johnson noted that Williams had autonomy to call plays, and that "about 30 percent of what we do is what was run with him in Utah."

Through 23 games, Williams is averaging 17 points and 8.3 assists on 38.8 percent shooting from the field and 29.9 percent from 3-point range, which are all down from previous seasons for the 28-year-old All-Star. As noted by the New York Times, he's generally settling for outside shots, rather than getting to the rim.

"We have great plays," Williams said. "We've had instances where we've had great offense, so it's not a problem. It's a problem with consistently executing. And we do run a lot of iso plays, which benefits a lot of other people, so we're gonna continue to run those plays, because that's Joe (Johnson)'s game, that's what he's most successful at, and then Brook (Lopez) on the block as well."